Chapter 43
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Isilla sat up at Haribit's coaxing. Everything hurt, she shivered even as her skin burned. Her friend tutted and propped her up on the pillows, settling the blankets around her before wiping the sweat from her face and chest.
Isilla motioned for her pen and Haribit handed her the book, opening the pages for her.
He's my prince, Isilla wrote.
Haribit raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"
The letters, Isilla clarified. He told me last night.
Haribit's face changed, cycling through shock and surprise to a sort of smugness. "I told you! I knew the way he looked at you it had to be him! All this time you've been here and you couldn't tell!"
Isilla coughed into her hand and Haribit dropped her gloating to cross back to her side and rub her back until the coughing subsided leaving Isilla weak and tired.
"The doctor said that you would be alright, it's just an illness from the cold but your body isn't used to it so it's hitting you quite hard. After you've eaten I'll give you more medicine."
Isilla shook her head. I don't like it. Tastes bad, too sleepy, she wrote.
Haribit frowned, "You have to take it. Your husband will kill me if I don't make sure you're treated. You should have seen him yesterday. Julen had to drag him away from your bedside. He looked so scary! Those shadows were everywhere. And then when he came back he had a list of orders about food, clothing, and everything else for you. As if I wasn't capable of taking care of you myself. What happened yesterday?"
Isilla shook her head, the cough taking her again. Lehan wants to take me, she wrote simply.
Haribit frowned, "How? You're Prince Arren's wife."
Isilla shrugged and shook her head.
"And besides, I overheard some of the servants talking. Lehan is very hurt. They said that he may not be able use his arm again, it was damaged so badly. He still hasn't really woken up either, from the head injury."
Isilla's lips parted in shock. He was hurt that badly, she thought.
A knock on the door and Sele entered with a bowl of something steaming, a kettle of hot water and a single tea cup.
Haribit thanked the woman as she bowed and left, gathering the bowl. "Rice and broth. You should be able to eat some of this at least," she said lifting the spoon to Isilla's mouth. She opened it and swallowed slowly, the food sliding tastelessly down her throat.
After she had eaten enough, Haribit made tea and gave her the medicine. Isilla took it all before laying back onto the pillows. I feel worse, she thought as she closed her eyes.
"Prince Arren said he would be back before lunch," Haribit said smiling. "Rest up until then."
Isilla nodded even as she drifted off.
In the Veil the major effects of the illness were absent, the connection between her dream body and physical one a line where illness could not cross. She looked down at Ilun whose tail thumped on the ground, his form changing slowly in soft waves throughout his body.
The gate opened and she looked up as someone entered her courtyard.
She smiled at the little boy, the darkteller with blue ocean eyes as he crossed the stone to her. She knelt and patted his head, using her own power to feel along the line for his body. He's fine, she thought, happy to see him in good health.
"Hello, why are you here dear?" she asked.
He pointed his finger at the fountain, "Pretty."
"Thank you," she replied as the child ambled off, exploring the world she had built. He climbed up the benches, peeked into flowerbeds, and splashed in the fountains. Isilla leaned against Ilun, half watching from curiosity.
"I wonder if that's what I was like, when I was little?"
She couldn't remember, she thought there must have been other weavers around her, she lived not far from the palace, though hidden. Certainly as an older child she had noticed them as the traveled but knew enough not to draw attention to herself then. But as a toddler, like the little boy she watched now, did they see her? Did she visit their worlds as this child visited hers?
"There's so much I don't know about people like me," she sighed. Her time outside the palace meant that she had had a normal enough life but it also meant that she lacked the connection that other dreamweavers would share. When she finally came to the meet them, in person, her sisters had been polite and distant.
"And these people are being held against their will," she frowned. "Should I ask Arren to look for them? Or should I wait until I can look myself?"
She rolled over to look at the sky, tracing the outline of birds that sprung from her fingertips and flew into the clouds above her. "I haven't explained it to him and when I'm awake, I don't have the strength and here, he won't remember."
He remembered what I said to him in the dream, she thought, shivering at the memory of his touch on her skin. The ways he feared to touch her in the waking. I want his touches, I want more, she realized, a hot blush of desire running up her neck. "But he is afraid and I am in no condition to convince him otherwise."
She frowned at the thought of her own condition, her power would not help her but there was Lehan. "Should I help him, Ilun?"
The animal looked at her blankly before snorting and placing his head back into his paws.
"It's our fault, if I hadn't gone there then this wouldn't have happened. I should have been more careful," she reasoned even as she stood and looked back at Inaki who played in the water.
"Inaki!" she called catching the boy's attention. "I'm going out."
He nodded and toddled to gate, disappearing through it. He knew enough to avoid the long drop of a waking dreamer and when she left, this dream space would crumble as if she had woken.
Mounting Ilun, she left the courtyard. She passed through the dreams, feeling the threads that lead to Lehan. Her light spilled into the scenes around her, changing them even as she moved past them, quickly, paying them no mind. The sparsely populated space of the Veil in the morning made for quick travel.
She slowed as she sensed him closer, the next dream over. She pushed Ilun through the barrier between the dreamers.
Immediately she floated, Ilun slipping from between her legs in the water. She forced the energy to ignore her, to let her and her pet walk. Around her, the green water, empty and murky swirled, air like where it touched her. Light filtered down from above, just out of her reach and below, only darkness.
Lehan floated in front of her, the bubbles of air escaping from his open mouth, his body unable to fall or rise in front her, the light from a surface he would never reach touching his fingertips.
She breathed in the energy of the dream, tasting it, feeling it with all parts of her being. "He'll never wake up," she said softly. She had felt dreams like this before, they had no end, the energy a trap that buried the dreamer, held them under until they were no more. He didn't tell me, she thought observing the stillness of Lehan's body in front of her, the wavering water. Did he not want to upset me because I am so ill? Or does he hope he will die?
She shook the dark thought away. "I don't think Arren is like that," she said, hoping to remind herself of the man she saw, not the one he pretended to be.
"I can't leave him like that," she said approaching his floating body. Ilun growled his disapproval even as she lifted herself to him, wrapping him in her arms.
As she had done with the boy in her courtyard, she reached down his thread with her own power back to his body. A pitiful and broken thing met her, the bones of his skull moving under his skin as Ilun's had moved under his. The arm ruined.
"His life, I'll give him his life," she said as the energy moved from her through him, back to his body, mending the parts of his skull, healing the broken vessels. She worked the energy until he could hold onto his own life and began to struggle again the water. She released him and he pushed away from her body, reaching for air.
Isilla grabbed onto Ilun's neck and moved downward, breaking through the barrier of his dream and into another, coming up through a pile of blankets into a bedroom. The laughter of a man a woman greeted her. She looked over at the dreamer and blushed at the scene. He and his lover, naked, touched each other.
How nice for them, she thought as she left the room, leaving the man and his dream woman alone. She breathed a shuddering breath as she came into her courtyard. How will I tell Arren about this, she thought as she collapsed back onto Ilun letting the energy of her own space refill her.
"I saved Lehan's life and he'll probably be just as grateful as Elixabete," she sighed. "But I couldn't just let him die."
She flickered and woke abruptly.
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Isilla sat up at Haribit's coaxing. Everything hurt, she shivered even as her skin burned. Her friend tutted and propped her up on the pillows, settling the blankets around her before wiping the sweat from her face and chest.
Isilla motioned for her pen and Haribit handed her the book, opening the pages for her.
He's my prince, Isilla wrote.
Haribit raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"
The letters, Isilla clarified. He told me last night.
Haribit's face changed, cycling through shock and surprise to a sort of smugness. "I told you! I knew the way he looked at you it had to be him! All this time you've been here and you couldn't tell!"
Isilla coughed into her hand and Haribit dropped her gloating to cross back to her side and rub her back until the coughing subsided leaving Isilla weak and tired.
"The doctor said that you would be alright, it's just an illness from the cold but your body isn't used to it so it's hitting you quite hard. After you've eaten I'll give you more medicine."
Isilla shook her head. I don't like it. Tastes bad, too sleepy, she wrote.
Haribit frowned, "You have to take it. Your husband will kill me if I don't make sure you're treated. You should have seen him yesterday. Julen had to drag him away from your bedside. He looked so scary! Those shadows were everywhere. And then when he came back he had a list of orders about food, clothing, and everything else for you. As if I wasn't capable of taking care of you myself. What happened yesterday?"
Isilla shook her head, the cough taking her again. Lehan wants to take me, she wrote simply.
Haribit frowned, "How? You're Prince Arren's wife."
Isilla shrugged and shook her head.
"And besides, I overheard some of the servants talking. Lehan is very hurt. They said that he may not be able use his arm again, it was damaged so badly. He still hasn't really woken up either, from the head injury."
Isilla's lips parted in shock. He was hurt that badly, she thought.
A knock on the door and Sele entered with a bowl of something steaming, a kettle of hot water and a single tea cup.
Haribit thanked the woman as she bowed and left, gathering the bowl. "Rice and broth. You should be able to eat some of this at least," she said lifting the spoon to Isilla's mouth. She opened it and swallowed slowly, the food sliding tastelessly down her throat.
After she had eaten enough, Haribit made tea and gave her the medicine. Isilla took it all before laying back onto the pillows. I feel worse, she thought as she closed her eyes.
"Prince Arren said he would be back before lunch," Haribit said smiling. "Rest up until then."
Isilla nodded even as she drifted off.
In the Veil the major effects of the illness were absent, the connection between her dream body and physical one a line where illness could not cross. She looked down at Ilun whose tail thumped on the ground, his form changing slowly in soft waves throughout his body.
The gate opened and she looked up as someone entered her courtyard.
She smiled at the little boy, the darkteller with blue ocean eyes as he crossed the stone to her. She knelt and patted his head, using her own power to feel along the line for his body. He's fine, she thought, happy to see him in good health.
"Hello, why are you here dear?" she asked.
He pointed his finger at the fountain, "Pretty."
"Thank you," she replied as the child ambled off, exploring the world she had built. He climbed up the benches, peeked into flowerbeds, and splashed in the fountains. Isilla leaned against Ilun, half watching from curiosity.
"I wonder if that's what I was like, when I was little?"
She couldn't remember, she thought there must have been other weavers around her, she lived not far from the palace, though hidden. Certainly as an older child she had noticed them as the traveled but knew enough not to draw attention to herself then. But as a toddler, like the little boy she watched now, did they see her? Did she visit their worlds as this child visited hers?
"There's so much I don't know about people like me," she sighed. Her time outside the palace meant that she had had a normal enough life but it also meant that she lacked the connection that other dreamweavers would share. When she finally came to the meet them, in person, her sisters had been polite and distant.
"And these people are being held against their will," she frowned. "Should I ask Arren to look for them? Or should I wait until I can look myself?"
She rolled over to look at the sky, tracing the outline of birds that sprung from her fingertips and flew into the clouds above her. "I haven't explained it to him and when I'm awake, I don't have the strength and here, he won't remember."
He remembered what I said to him in the dream, she thought, shivering at the memory of his touch on her skin. The ways he feared to touch her in the waking. I want his touches, I want more, she realized, a hot blush of desire running up her neck. "But he is afraid and I am in no condition to convince him otherwise."
She frowned at the thought of her own condition, her power would not help her but there was Lehan. "Should I help him, Ilun?"
The animal looked at her blankly before snorting and placing his head back into his paws.
"It's our fault, if I hadn't gone there then this wouldn't have happened. I should have been more careful," she reasoned even as she stood and looked back at Inaki who played in the water.
"Inaki!" she called catching the boy's attention. "I'm going out."
He nodded and toddled to gate, disappearing through it. He knew enough to avoid the long drop of a waking dreamer and when she left, this dream space would crumble as if she had woken.
Mounting Ilun, she left the courtyard. She passed through the dreams, feeling the threads that lead to Lehan. Her light spilled into the scenes around her, changing them even as she moved past them, quickly, paying them no mind. The sparsely populated space of the Veil in the morning made for quick travel.
She slowed as she sensed him closer, the next dream over. She pushed Ilun through the barrier between the dreamers.
Immediately she floated, Ilun slipping from between her legs in the water. She forced the energy to ignore her, to let her and her pet walk. Around her, the green water, empty and murky swirled, air like where it touched her. Light filtered down from above, just out of her reach and below, only darkness.
Lehan floated in front of her, the bubbles of air escaping from his open mouth, his body unable to fall or rise in front her, the light from a surface he would never reach touching his fingertips.
She breathed in the energy of the dream, tasting it, feeling it with all parts of her being. "He'll never wake up," she said softly. She had felt dreams like this before, they had no end, the energy a trap that buried the dreamer, held them under until they were no more. He didn't tell me, she thought observing the stillness of Lehan's body in front of her, the wavering water. Did he not want to upset me because I am so ill? Or does he hope he will die?
She shook the dark thought away. "I don't think Arren is like that," she said, hoping to remind herself of the man she saw, not the one he pretended to be.
"I can't leave him like that," she said approaching his floating body. Ilun growled his disapproval even as she lifted herself to him, wrapping him in her arms.
As she had done with the boy in her courtyard, she reached down his thread with her own power back to his body. A pitiful and broken thing met her, the bones of his skull moving under his skin as Ilun's had moved under his. The arm ruined.
"His life, I'll give him his life," she said as the energy moved from her through him, back to his body, mending the parts of his skull, healing the broken vessels. She worked the energy until he could hold onto his own life and began to struggle again the water. She released him and he pushed away from her body, reaching for air.
Isilla grabbed onto Ilun's neck and moved downward, breaking through the barrier of his dream and into another, coming up through a pile of blankets into a bedroom. The laughter of a man a woman greeted her. She looked over at the dreamer and blushed at the scene. He and his lover, naked, touched each other.
How nice for them, she thought as she left the room, leaving the man and his dream woman alone. She breathed a shuddering breath as she came into her courtyard. How will I tell Arren about this, she thought as she collapsed back onto Ilun letting the energy of her own space refill her.
"I saved Lehan's life and he'll probably be just as grateful as Elixabete," she sighed. "But I couldn't just let him die."
She flickered and woke abruptly.
Isilla sat up at Haribit's coaxing. Everything hurt, she shivered even as her skin burned. Her friend tutted and propped her up on the pillows, settling the blankets around her before wiping the sweat from her face and chest.Isilla motioned for her pen and Haribit handed her the book, opening the pages for her.He's my prince, Isilla wrote.Haribit raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"The letters, Isilla clarified. He told me last night.Haribit's face changed, cycling through shock and surprise to a sort of smugness. "I told you! I knew the way he looked at you it had to be him! All this time you've been here and you couldn't tell!"Isilla coughed into her hand and Haribit dropped her gloating to cross back to her side and rub her back until the coughing subsided leaving Isilla weak and tired."The doctor said that you would be alright, it's just an illness from the cold but your body isn't used to it so it's hitting you quite hard. After you've eaten I'll give you more medicine."Isilla shook her head. I don't like it. Tastes bad, too sleepy, she wrote.Haribit frowned, "You have to take it. Your husband will kill me if I don't make sure you're treated. You should have seen him yesterday. Julen had to drag him away from your bedside. He looked so scary! Those shadows were everywhere. And then when he came back he had a list of orders about food, clothing, and everything else for you. As if I wasn't capable of taking care of you myself. What happened yesterday?"Isilla shook her head, the cough taking her again. Lehan wants to take me, she wrote simply.Haribit frowned, "How? You're Prince Arren's wife."Isilla shrugged and shook her head."And besides, I overheard some of the servants talking. Lehan is very hurt. They said that he may not be able use his arm again, it was damaged so badly. He still hasn't really woken up either, from the head injury."Isilla's lips parted in shock. He was hurt that badly, she thought.A knock on the door and Sele entered with a bowl of something steaming, a kettle of hot water and a single tea cup.Haribit thanked the woman as she bowed and left, gathering the bowl. "Rice and broth. You should be able to eat some of this at least," she said lifting the spoon to Isilla's mouth. She opened it and swallowed slowly, the food sliding tastelessly down her throat.After she had eaten enough, Haribit made tea and gave her the medicine. Isilla took it all before laying back onto the pillows. I feel worse, she thought as she closed her eyes."Prince Arren said he would be back before lunch," Haribit said smiling. "Rest up until then."Isilla nodded even as she drifted off.In the Veil the major effects of the illness were absent, the connection between her dream body and physical one a line where illness could not cross. She looked down at Ilun whose tail thumped on the ground, his form changing slowly in soft waves throughout his body.The gate opened and she looked up as someone entered her courtyard.She smiled at the little boy, the darkteller with blue ocean eyes as he crossed the stone to her. She knelt and patted his head, using her own power to feel along the line for his body. He's fine, she thought, happy to see him in good health."Hello, why are you here dear?" she asked.He pointed his finger at the fountain, "Pretty.""Thank you," she replied as the child ambled off, exploring the world she had built. He climbed up the benches, peeked into flowerbeds, and splashed in the fountains. Isilla leaned against Ilun, half watching from curiosity."I wonder if that's what I was like, when I was little?"She couldn't remember, she thought there must have been other weavers around her, she lived not far from the palace, though hidden. Certainly as an older child she had noticed them as the traveled but knew enough not to draw attention to herself then. But as a toddler, like the little boy she watched now, did they see her? Did she visit their worlds as this child visited hers?"There's so much I don't know about people like me," she sighed. Her time outside the palace meant that she had had a normal enough life but it also meant that she lacked the connection that other dreamweavers would share. When she finally came to the meet them, in person, her sisters had been polite and distant."And these people are being held against their will," she frowned. "Should I ask Arren to look for them? Or should I wait until I can look myself?"She rolled over to look at the sky, tracing the outline of birds that sprung from her fingertips and flew into the clouds above her. "I haven't explained it to him and when I'm awake, I don't have the strength and here, he won't remember."He remembered what I said to him in the dream, she thought, shivering at the memory of his touch on her skin. The ways he feared to touch her in the waking. I want his touches, I want more, she realized, a hot blush of desire running up her neck. "But he is afraid and I am in no condition to convince him otherwise."She frowned at the thought of her own condition, her power would not help her but there was Lehan. "Should I help him, Ilun?"The animal looked at her blankly before snorting and placing his head back into his paws."It's our fault, if I hadn't gone there then this wouldn't have happened. I should have been more careful," she reasoned even as she stood and looked back at Inaki who played in the water."Inaki!" she called catching the boy's attention. "I'm going out."He nodded and toddled to gate, disappearing through it. He knew enough to avoid the long drop of a waking dreamer and when she left, this dream space would crumble as if she had woken.Mounting Ilun, she left the courtyard. She passed through the dreams, feeling the threads that lead to Lehan. Her light spilled into the scenes around her, changing them even as she moved past them, quickly, paying them no mind. The sparsely populated space of the Veil in the morning made for quick travel.She slowed as she sensed him closer, the next dream over. She pushed Ilun through the barrier between the dreamers.Immediately she floated, Ilun slipping from between her legs in the water. She forced the energy to ignore her, to let her and her pet walk. Around her, the green water, empty and murky swirled, air like where it touched her. Light filtered down from above, just out of her reach and below, only darkness.Lehan floated in front of her, the bubbles of air escaping from his open mouth, his body unable to fall or rise in front her, the light from a surface he would never reach touching his fingertips.She breathed in the energy of the dream, tasting it, feeling it with all parts of her being. "He'll never wake up," she said softly. She had felt dreams like this before, they had no end, the energy a trap that buried the dreamer, held them under until they were no more. He didn't tell me, she thought observing the stillness of Lehan's body in front of her, the wavering water. Did he not want to upset me because I am so ill? Or does he hope he will die?She shook the dark thought away. "I don't think Arren is like that," she said, hoping to remind herself of the man she saw, not the one he pretended to be."I can't leave him like that," she said approaching his floating body. Ilun growled his disapproval even as she lifted herself to him, wrapping him in her arms.As she had done with the boy in her courtyard, she reached down his thread with her own power back to his body. A pitiful and broken thing met her, the bones of his skull moving under his skin as Ilun's had moved under his. The arm ruined."His life, I'll give him his life," she said as the energy moved from her through him, back to his body, mending the parts of his skull, healing the broken vessels. She worked the energy until he could hold onto his own life and began to struggle again the water. She released him and he pushed away from her body, reaching for air.Isilla grabbed onto Ilun's neck and moved downward, breaking through the barrier of his dream and into another, coming up through a pile of blankets into a bedroom. The laughter of a man a woman greeted her. She looked over at the dreamer and blushed at the scene. He and his lover, naked, touched each other.How nice for them, she thought as she left the room, leaving the man and his dream woman alone. She breathed a shuddering breath as she came into her courtyard. How will I tell Arren about this, she thought as she collapsed back onto Ilun letting the energy of her own space refill her."I saved Lehan's life and he'll probably be just as grateful as Elixabete," she sighed. "But I couldn't just let him die."She flickered and woke abruptly.
